In 1920, Italian Anarchists set off a bomb in front of J.P. Morgan Inc. on Wall Street. Photo via Wikimedia Commons
When a bomb went off in New York’s Chelsea neighborhood last Saturday, it didn’t take long for the specter of Islamic terrorism to engulf America’s largest city. This, many thought—absent any evidence—was surely an act of jihad, whether orchestrated by a group like ISIS or otherwise. And even if a notebook authored by alleged bomber Ahmad Khan Rahami—who is charged with using a weapon of mass destruction and bombing a place of public use, among other offenses—suggests he was in fact a fan of al Qaeda luminaries, a blind rush to judgement never serves anyone.
Meanwhile, regardless of the bomber’s motivations, it’s fair to say heated rhetoric on the campaign trail and attacks by radical Islamists both here and abroad have helped ramp anti-Muslim sentiment up to frightening new levels. As the New York Times reports, hate crimes across the United States are the highest they’ve been since just after 9/11—and spiked by 78 percent last year. Rahami’s alleged role seems poised to fan already white-hot flames.
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But if you were hesitant to jump to conclusions after Saturday’s blast, history is actually on your side. New York City has been rocked by blasts large and small over the centuries, thanks to bombs planted by groups with the healthy array of prejudices and ethnic backgrounds you might expect from a diverse metropolis. Some of them, like the 1993 bombing of the World Trade Center, are fresh in our minds. Others, less so. Here’s a brief rundown of the some of the people and organizations who have tried to blow up a little piece of the Big Apple.
A Guy Upset at Con Edison
This really happened. George Metesky planted 33 pipe bombs around New York throughout the 1940s and 50s, 22 of which exploded. The target of his rage was the electric utility Con Edison, which had fired him after a workplace injury. He also justified his actions in terms of the unreasonable rates the company charged for electricity. Using his crude bombs, Metesky attacked Pennsylvania Station, Radio City Music Hall, the New York Public Library, the Port Authority Bus Terminal, the RCA Building, and the New York City Subway. He was caught in 1957 and committed to a state mental hospital until 1973. Miraculously, he never killed anyone, but injured 15.
Puerto Rican Nationalists
The Fuerzas Armadas de Liberación Nacional (FALN) was a terrorist group dedicated to independence for Puerto Rico, and to Marxist-Leninism in general. Between 1969 and 1982, the group planted at least seven bombs throughout New York City, killing five people, injuring dozens, and blinding three NYPD bomb technicians. Its targets include the Macy’s department store in Herald Square, and Fraunces Tavern—the inn and tourist attraction where George Washington headquartered his army during the Revolutionary War.
The Jewish Defense League
Founded by Rabbi Meir Kahane in New York City in 1968, the JDL was created to protect Jews from anti-Semitism “by any means necessary.” During the 1970s, the group’s political violence was targeted mainly at the interests of the Soviet Union within the United States, in protest at the treatment of Jews within the USSR. In 1980, the group detonated a device outside the New York headquarters of Aeroflot, the Soviet government airline, and the year after, was linked with rifle fire directed at the Soviet mission to the United Nations. In 1972, a smoke bomb was planted in the Manhattan office of musician Sol Hurok, who organized tours of the US for Soviet performers. The JDL was suspected of involvement, and one victim died of smoke inhalation.
Confederate Sleeper Agents
On November 25, 1864, in the waning days of the American Civil War, eight Confederate sleeper agents set crude incendiary devices at 21 locations throughout the the city. Their plan was to overwhelm New York’s fire response and burn as much of the city as possible. Most of the devices either failed to start fires, or their blazes were quickly contained.
A Fan of the Movie “Fight Club”
The most bizarre explosion ever to rock New York took place in 2009 when 17-year-old Kyle Shaw set off an explosive device at the East 92nd Street branch of Starbucks, inspired by “Project Mayhem,” the domestic terrorism operation featured at the end of Fight Club. There were no injuries. In 2010, Shaw accepted a plea deal to serve three and a half years in prison.
Croatian Nationalists
On September 10, 1976, a group calling itself “Fighters for a Free Croatia” hijacked a flight from LaGuardia to Chicago O’Hare. The men informed authorities that they had also left a bomb in a locker at New York’s Grand Central Station. Their aim was to draw international attention to Croatia’s desire for national independence from Yugoslavia. The station bomb was located and transported to a firing range. Attempting to dismantle the device, one police officer was killed and three others wounded.
Italian Anarchists
Shortly after midnight on September 16, 1920, a horse-drawn wagon filled with explosives was detonated in front of the J.P. Morgan bank on Wall Street. Containing dynamite and 500 pounds of small metal weights, the blast killed 38 and wounded hundreds. Although the terrorists were never caught, the verdict of history is that the atrocity was committed by Italian followers of insurrectionist anarchist Luigi Galleani.
The Weather Underground
Multiple explosions in New York City in the late 1960s were attributed to the Weather Underground. A paramilitary splinter group of the anti-war organization SDS (Students For A Democratic Society), the Underground’s ultimate goal was the revolutionary overthrow of the US government. Although the group largely targeted government and corporate buildings in their attacks, it accidentally exploded a townhouse in Greenwich Village in 1970. Three Weathermen were making explosives at the home, on West 11th Street. All three died in the blast.
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